Jainism in South India There may not be any other religion in India which is as much misunderstood and misrepresented as Jainism. Many scholars have asserted that it is an off-shoot of Buddhism and a revolt from Hinduism. Even an eminent historian like Arnold Toynbee has asserted that Bhagavan Mahavira is the “founder of Jainism” and that the Jainas were “amongst the fossilized relics of similar societies...

Ancient History of Jainism can be traced back to the time of Bhagwan Rishabh Dev. It was under the reign of Chandragupta Maurya that Jainism gained recognition. History of Jainism dates back to the time of Bhagwan Rishabh Dev or Adinath. He was the first of the 24 Tirthankaras and belonged to the House of Ikshwaku, also known as the "House of the Sun". According to the Jain philosophy, Bhagwan Rishabh Dev was...

Jainism in the Deccan region had a strong hold. In the regions like Mysore, Kannada and areas of Mumbai and Madras Presidency Jainism had received an upsurge by the royal families. Numerous temples which are now in ruins to a great extent, as also the inscriptions and literary information prove that Jainism had numerous followers in the past and that it experienced a great boom in Maharashtra, in the Kannad...

Jainism in Mughal Period received great importance. The rulers of Mughal Dynasty honoured many Jain saints and scholars and also gave them various epithets. During the rule of the Mughal Dynasty rulers like Babar (1526-30), Humayun (1530-40), Sher Shah Suri (1540-55), Akbar (1556-1605), Jahangir (1605-27), Shah Jahan (1627-58), Aurangzeb (1658-1707) became kings respectively. Amongst the later Mughals, only the...

Jainism during Delhi Sultanate could not flourish much as some of the rulers were intolerant. However, many great Jain scholars received honour at the hands of the rulers. The rulers of Delhi were of Turk origin and followed Islam religion. They were intolerant towards the followers of Jainism and Hinduism. They even indulged in slaughtering of non-Muslims and destroying their property. They demolished temples...

Jainism in Mediaeval Period received much importance and was patronised by rulers of different dynasties. During this period Jain doctrine, scriptures, construction of Jain temples and installation of Jain images received much importance. Jainism in mediaeval India flourished to a great extent. The emperors of the Delhi Sultanate, Mughal Dynasty and the Rajput Clans patronised Jain religion. During the...

The Early Centuries of Jainism Jainism is one of the oldest religions in the world, so old that we cannot with certainty date its beginnings. Jain tradition tells that Mahavira twenty-forth and last of the Tīrthaṅkara or Prophets of the current cycle of the time. Some of the stories about them are truly amazing and non? Jains are rarely convinced. They are credited with enormously long spans of life and...

History of Jainism in Tamil Nadu (I) Jainism might have reached Tamil Nadu, perhaps, a century after the nirv āṇ a of Mahāvīra . The Buddhist chronicle, Maha-vamsa (mahā-vamśa; Ch. 10) states that the Sinhalese king, Pā ṇḍ ukābhaya, built a temple for the Nigantha (niga ṇ tha) Jotiya and another for Nigantha Kumbham ḍ a. Nigantha is the pāli term for a Digambara monk. The period of this king...

History of Jainism in Tamil Nadu (II) During the time of Raja-raja III (A.D. 1226), Kū ḍ al Ā ḷ appirantān Ē ḷ i ś ai M ō han Kā ḍ ava-rāyan made a grant to the Pārśvanātha-svāmi of Tiru-narungodai. During the same year, another grant was made to Narpa-t-ten-ayira-p-perum-palli ( nārpa-t-te ṇṇ -āyira-p-pe-rum-pa ḷḷ i) by Kolli-y-ūr O ḍ eyān for burning a lamp before the yakshi...

History of Jainism in Karnataka (II) Monasteries appeared in Karnataka around the century A.D. and later, in places like Gerasoppe, Karkala, Sangitapura, Mudubidire etc. Lineages of teachers are found mentioned in many inscriptions, which show that there was an organized monastic system in the country. This system produced great scholars like Pūjya-pāda, Ravi-kīrti, Samanta-bhadra, Aka ḷ a ṅ ka,...